Endgame Part 1 of 3
by writingcreature
Summary: I wasn't really satisfied with the last episode. So I decided to write another one.


**Endgame **

**Part 1 **

Dean and Sam got out of the Impala. They had finally reached their destination, the dilapidated complex of an asylum.

"How appropriate", Dean murmured and threw the door of the Impala shut.

Sam did the same, turned round and scanned the area.

Dean walked resolutely past him to the entrance. One of the broken glass doors stood "invitingly" ajar.

"Great, so we're not the first", Sam thought and followed his brother.

The stench of sulfur filled the air. Dean hesitated.

"What's up?" Sam hissed.

"Nothing. And it's far too late for a change of mind", Dean's voice was barely above a whisper.

"It's my turn", Sam stated shoving his brother aside and entered the concrete ruins.

The paint on the walls was faded and flaked. Loose wires and broken lamps hung from the ceiling. Dusk set in and it was getting darker inside. The brothers turned on their flash lights.

Carefully they put one foot in front of the other. The ground was littered with debris and smashed furniture. Might have been the work of some bored teens or a storm that had swept through the corridor.

The massive amount of demon blood in Sam's system made him much more sensitive for noise and other things. All his senses were on high alert and so it was him first who discovered the blood-smeared wings in the semi darkness. Someone had nailed them on the wall, x-shaped.

"Castiel!" Sam croaked.

Dean looked around in confusion, "where?"

Without a word Sam lifted his flash light. The beam hit the wings, blood still dripping from the one end. The end that was usually attached to Castiel's back.

"Lucifer! You damned SONOFABITCH!" Dean yelled and cocked his rifle.

"Shove your ass down here, you monstrosity. I'm sick and tired of playing hide and seek with such a miserable bastard."

A muffled laughter not unlike the rumble of thunder echoed through the deserted corridors.

Every hair on Sam's neck stood on end. He felt the presence of evil and the overwhelming power behind it. His blood was boiling in his veins. Then he heard something like a whip cracking behind him. Dean screamed and dropped his gun. A huge cut appeared on the back of his hand.

Sam caught his brother before he hit the ground.

"What the hell was that?"

He looked around but couldn't see anything. Lucifer's dark presence was still looming and getting stronger.

"I'm okay," Dean wriggled out of Sam's grip and took the rifle in his left hand.

He tucked it under his right arm and searched his pockets for a cloth to dress the wound.

"Cowardly asshole," Dean muttered.

Sam pointed with his flash light towards the stairs.

"He's up there. Fifth floor."

"Let me guess, the elevator is currently out of order."

Dean bit in one corner of the cloth and pulled tight.

Sam was already out of sight.

"Shit Sammy! Seems to me you can't wait pushing the daisies," Dean thought.

"No, that's not my intention. I just want to end this shit," Sam's voice came from above.

"But …," Dean looked up stunned.

"You don't want to know." He heard Sam's voice once again only in his mind or for real?

The elder Winchester started feeling uncomfortable. And he hoped that they could play this endgame by their rules at least a little bit.

Sam put his foot on the landing of the fifth flight. Something approached along the aisle in his direction … a surge of energy and immense heat. It felt like numerous hands gliding over his body. An invisible power tried to drag him along. He fought it. And for the first time he was able to feel all the rage and anger Lucifer had bottled up. The whole building started to rumble.

Dean stumbled, crawling the last few steps to the top on all fours.

"Is it really necessary to give us such a hard time, Sam Winchester?" Lucifer's voice echoed from the walls.

"Is it really necessary? I've already told you there's only one choice left."

Sam gave in and resigned himself to his fate. He stopped at a door at the end of the hall and opened it. An examination room, or was it an operation theatre? Hard to tell. The interior was a mixture of sick room and torture chamber. Castiel had been gagged and strapped on a metal operating table. He lay face down, wearing only his trousers. The shirt had been ripped from his body. He seemed to be unconscious. Where his wings had been attached, Sam saw two gaping wounds.

"Cas!" He rushed to the angel.

Lucifer who looked out of the window on the opposite side made a hardly noticeable gesture and sent Sam flying across the room like a ragdoll. Sam thought he heard some of his bones crack, as he hit the wall with full force.

At the same time Dean arrived on the scene. His gut twisted as he saw Castiel's maltreated body, but he tried to stay calm. He turned his head and his gaze met Sam's.

"Shouldn't you be more careful with your vessel?" Dean snapped.

Lucifer showed no reaction. He kept staring outside into the darkness. Obviously a storm was brewing.

"Don't worry. As soon as your brother is mine, he's going to feel better than ever."

His voice sounded kinda bored.

"What have you done to Castiel?" Sam demanded while he was putting himself together.

"Call it collateral damage. I merely want to keep him from messing up things, for instance building an alliance of any kind. It would have only destroyed this wonderful balance."

He turned to the Winchesters with a smug grin on his decaying face.

"What do you think Sam? Do we have a deal?"

Sam gulped, threw a glimpse at his brother, then at Castiel and finally at Lucifer.

The angel smiled and bent his head to the side.

"Don't worry. You won't look like that. This vessel is weak. Nick was a nice guy but not nearly powerful enough. Poor soul."

Dean licked his lips nervously.

"What happens when you leave his body?"

"Come on," Lucifer spread his arms, "who cares? All you wanna do is play for time. You already know there's no turning back. Not for your brother, not for you. Though, it seems he needs a little more incentive."

Faster than the speed of light he grabbed the older Winchester. Within a heartbeat Dean found himself kneeling next to Lucifer. The devils fingers squeezed Dean's shoulder hard. The wound on the human's hand started to bleed again.

"Did you really think a stupid rifle could protect you?" Lucifer laughed out loud.

"How stupid you meat suits are. How stupid and uninspired." He shook his head.

"Let my brother go," Sam said, "you promised …"

"Promises are nothing but shallow phrases to me."

He looked Sam straight into the eye and squeezed harder.

Dean writhed in pain. Soon his shoulder would snap like a twig. Blood was already pooling on the floor.

"Do you really want to watch him bleed to death? I never thought you'd be such a bad boy," Lucifer teased.

The storm hit the building with full force and thunder and lightning struck from the sky.

White stars danced in front of Dean's eyes. He felt the life drain from is body while deadly cold enveloped him.

"What do you think, Sammeh? Is your brother really as strong as you think? How long can he survive? Usually he wouldn't bleed to death in such a short period of time. Not with this scratch but in our case …"

He lifted Deans limp arm. There was no doubt that his power influenced Dean's blood flow.

Sam was forced into action. Right now. He truly hoped the time was right and their plan would work. Castiel was still unconscious. It was better for him, anyway.

Sam was ready to let Lucifer overpower him. But only under certain terms and conditions. Up til now he'd been able to hide the wild power that was raging inside his body.

First, Sam had to free Dean from Lucifer's claws. He'd had to interrupt the physical contact. Sam wanted to avoid any risk.

His attack came so unexpected that even Lucifer tore his eyes open in surprise.

"I'm sorry," Sam pressed out between clenched teeth and pushed his brother aside brutally.

Then Sam took Lucifer's head between his hands. If anything would go wrong, they'd lose. And mankind as well.

"You think you can conquer me? I'm going to squash you like a cockroach!" Lucifer yelled hysterically.

Sam gave him an ice cold: "FUCK YOU!"

Then he closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Jesse, if you're in there I command you to come to me!"

Horrified Lucifer looked at Sam's face. This couldn't be. It' could be nothing more than a cheap hunter's trick. He would have felt it. He had to have felt it if someone else possessed this body. How could he, Lucifer, be so sure about that?

"Jesse, you hear me? Come to me!"

Sam felt kind of an electric shock. Then he could see it. Deep down inside his opponent. A spark followed by an inhuman cry.

"Jesse, come to me," Sam's voice grew stronger.

"What are you doing to me?" Lucifer's voice sounded blurred.

Sam ignored him. The demon blood in his system communicated somehow with the mind of the boy. A few days ago Jesse secretly intruded Lucifer's vessel and had waited for this very moment since then.

"With the power of my demon blood, I command you: SHOW YOURSELF!"

And then all of a sudden, Lucifer dropped on his knees. His gaze clouded and Jesse's mind forced the devil out of Nick's body. At that moment Sam was glad that Jesse's body was safe and sound in Bobby's panic room.

Part one of the mission was completed. The more dangerous part was coming now.

Like Famine had once done, Sam opened his mouth and inhaled the dark cloud that appeared from Nick's mouth.

Horrified and with tears in his eyes, Dean watched the scenario. It was cruel having to watch helplessly as the dark energy took over Sam's body. Dean put his hand in his pocket where he felt the rings of the four horsemen. They burned his flesh but he kept quiet. He bravely endured the pain.

After the transfer was completed Nick and Sam dropped to the ground bonelessly.

For the fraction of a second Dean felt relieved. At least Jesse had become another player of "Team Free Will".

But this action was nothing compared to what was coming next.

Because suddenly the room was bathed in a ray of light. Dean had to cover his eyes. But he didn't have to look at their new "guest". It was Michael. It was no surprise he appeared in Adam's body and he also looked a little bit deranged.

"It was wrong to turn against me," he spat out, "did you really think you'd be stronger than me?"

"It was worth a try," Dean snarled.

"Shut the fuck up!" Michael commanded and cut Dean's airways off by sheer force of will until the hunter's face turned blue.

"If I didn't need you, I would kill you here and now," the archangel hissed.

"Unfortunately, your half brother is not the perfect armor for an Endgame like this. I still need you. Are you still willing to …"

The blow with the angel's dagger came totally unexpected for Michael. Stunned he looked down at his body.

"How …!" Like in slow motion he toppled over. Castiel stood behind him. Shaky and bathed in sweat but he stood. He let go of the dagger before Michael hit the floor.

"I know I can't kill you. But I can prevent you from peeing in our sandbox."

Dean looked stunned in Castiel's direction. The twitching of the angel's mouth might have been something similar to a smile.

Nick leant his upper body against the wall under the window sill. His body was recovering very slowly. It was Jesse's energy that powered him up.

Suddenly Sam got up in one movement. Like a marionette attached to strings. He stood in the middle of the room, staring into space.

His eyes went white, he was blinded. Then his left eye started to liquefy. Turned into a black gooey mush and ran down his cheek.

Dean started to scream, wanted to help his brother.

Castiel held him back.

"Not now, wait."

A strangled scream escaped Sam's throat. Black liquid spilled from his mouth over his shirt. He tried to say something but all he could manage was a gurgling sound.

He was on all fours, now. The stench was almost unbearable. The dark gooey mush forced its way out of Sam's nose and ears. He was throwing up his own decaying intestines. Blindly he reached into Deans' direction. A helpless gesture but a gesture that told more than a thousand words.

Dean gulped. The lump in his throat remained and he was about to choke on it. Bitter tears of despair cascaded down his face. On the outside, Sam's body was intact and Dean was sure that Sam was still in there somewhere, locked up. He certainly suffered unspeakable pain.

"Now!" Castiel's voice ripped Dean from his thoughts.

In a hurry he positioned the rings around Sam.

A fraction of a second later the ground underneath their feet started to shake. A hole appeared out of nowhere underneath Sam while his boneless body was lifted by an invisible power. The flames of hell licked at his clothing and seemed to be eager for his body. Thunder sounding like canon shots filled the air.

The flames grew higher and when Sam was completely wrapped up in the orange light he was sucked into the hole.

"Sam, noooooooooooooooo!" Dean yelled and wanted to cover his brother's body with his own but it was already too late. The hell mouth closed and it went deadly silent.

"Sam, no, no. no. Please come back, please, Sammy …" Dean's voice broke and he couldn't stop sobbing.

Castiel and Jesse tried to calm him but he shoved them aside furiously.

The ringing of Dean's phone almost scared them to death. They knew who was on the other end of the line.

With shaky fingers Dean fished for his phone and snapped it open.

"Bobby?" he asked and had to clear his voice several times before he could go on.

"Bobby, did it work?" he finally managed to say.

Castiel and Jesse where listening closely as well.

"The ritual worked," Bobby grumbled, "Crowley and I have Sam's body over here. Lucifer free."

Cautious cheers broke out among the three.

"Bobby, these are great news, excellent. Can I talk to him?"

Euphoric, Dean wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Unfortunately, you can't son. Your brother is dead. I think the stress was too much for him though he had a huge amount of demon blood in him. I'm sorry."

The other end of the line went silent. Their mission was completed. Everything had worked. Everything. Except for the fact that Sam was not sitting on Bobby's couch, right now. Instead he lay lifeless on the carpeted floor.

Castiel took the phone out of Dean's shock-stiffened hand.

"We'll be there as soon as possible."

Then he snapped the phone shut. tbc


End file.
